Soil has mechanical, physical, pneumatic, hydrologic, chemical, thermal and biological properties that can be integrated in building and urban design to enhance the sustainability and improve the environmental and economic performance of both inside and outside spaces. Concurrent consideration of these soil properties, in conjunction with climate and building characteristics allows treatment of nearby soil as an extension of building infrastructure.
Soil properties have mostly been considered in piecemeal fashion for traditional building design. For example, mechanical properties such as compaction are important for foundations; physical/hydrological properties are important for infiltration of water; chemical properties are important for plant growth and sorption of contaminants; and biological properties are important for septic leach fields. Newer “green” building designs incorporate water harvesting, ground source heat pumps for thermal management of buildings, biological treatment of gray water and other features that rely upon knowledge of a narrow set of soil characteristics to optimize soil performance for a single given function.